Street Renaming Will Honor ‘National Greek Television’ Founder

An Astoria intersection will be renamed to celebrate the founder of a Greek television channel.

The intersection of Steinway Street and 31st Avenue will be called “Demetris Kastanas Way” to honor the founder of National Greek Television, the first privately owned Greek channel in the U.S.

Kastanas passed away in January 2013.

“As the founder of the Greek television channel, he created an opportunity for the Greek-American community, many of whom were not native English speakers, to directly engage with news and current events,” Councilman Costa Constantinides said.

Constantinides noted that Kastanas was also committed to charitable causes and fundraising for organizations such as the Greek Children’s Cancer Fund.

“Demetris Kastanas helped promote Hellenism and Democratic values throughout his life,” the Councilman said. “He became a great example of civic engagement to his Greek-American community.”

“We are proud to commemorate Kastanas’ contribution to Astoria with this street co-naming,” he added.

The City Council approved “Demetris Kastanas Way” along with names for 42 other thoroughfares and public places last week.

The NYC Ferry system is set to undergo a significant expansion in coming months, with the Astoria route, connecting the western Queens neighborhood to Wall Street, getting a new stop at the Brooklyn Navy Yard this spring.

A 24-year-old Brooklyn man who crashed his car on the BQE in 2017 and left a 25-year-old Astoria woman inside his burning vehicle to die was sentenced yesterday to four to 12 years in prison, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.